Recipe
- 1oz rye whiskey (I used Old Overholt)
- 1oz cognac (I used Remy Martin VSOP)
- 1 sugar cube
- Couple dashes Peychaud’s bitters
- Couple dashes of Angostura bitters
- Few drops of absinthe
Add the sugar cube into a glass and muddle with the bitters and a dash of water to dissolve. Add the spirits and ice, and stir. Rinse a separate glass with a couple drops of absinthe (or spray with an atomizer) and strain the drink into the rinsed glass. Express the oils from a lemon peel over top and discard.
About
I’ve heard about this “50/50 Sazerac” enough times now that I had to finally try it. The 50/50 refers to the split base for the cocktail using both cognac brandy and rye whiskey. The split base gives you the best of both spirit worlds, and for any Old Fashioned/Sazerac fan, this is surely one to try.
The classic New Orleans variation of the Old Fashioned cocktail was originally made using Cognac brandy, which is created using French grapes. The phylloxera pest epidemic of the late 19th century killed a lot of the French grape vines, which impacted the availability of Cognac in the US, and so the recipe for the Sazerac switched to using American rye whiskey as its base spirit, which to this day is regarded as the de facto sazerac recipe. That said, give this split version a try at home, or order it on your next night out.